


Jesse the ARC Trooper

by malaxandrite



Series: Brothers All [7]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Jesse needs a hug, M/M, Mental Health Issues, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-Umbara Arc (Star Wars), Umbara is a Spooky Place (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malaxandrite/pseuds/malaxandrite
Summary: Jesse isn't doing so well after Umbara.
Relationships: CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-5597 | Jesse & CT-6116 | Kix, CT-5597 | Jesse/CT-6116 | Kix
Series: Brothers All [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114940
Kudos: 40





	Jesse the ARC Trooper

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warnings: mental health issues
> 
> Mando'a translations in the end notes

Rex hears the door to his office aboard the Resolute click open and he looks up. “Fives,” he says in greeting, already dreading whatever shenanigans the ARC trooper is here to report. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah, sir,” Fives states, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the desk, “I wanted to discuss something with you.” His face remains somber and Rex feels worry clench tight in his stomach. He pushes aside the data pads and various reports he has to complete. 

“Sure. What is it?”

Fives lets out a breath, “it’s about Jesse.”

“Is something wrong?” Rex askes, brow furrowing. He hasn’t noticed anything off with Jesse as of late. A little less rambunctious than usual, but he figures he was still recovering from Umbara; it was only a few weeks ago, after all. 

“Sort of,” Fives says, pausing to rub nervously at the back of his neck. “He’s distancing himself, from…well, everyone.” Rex frowns and Fives continues, “on Umbara when we were-- when...” he pauses and takes a deep breath, “before the execution, we weren’t sure if they were going to go through with it or not. We talked about it. In the cell. He was so sure that all the brothers on the firing squad wouldn’t do it, but I could see it in his eyes, Rex. He was so scared.” Rex’s fists clench on the armrests and he has to stop himself from looking away from Fives piercing gaze. 

“And then, after my speech, when no one said anything, it-- it just hit us that they were going to kill us. It was like--” Fives squeezes his eyes shut, hanging his head. “I can’t begin to explain the feeling of thinking you’re going to be killed by your own brothers, your own squad.” Rex feels tears form in his eyes and blinks them away. The knowledge that he got their punishment changed from court-martial to execution haunts him. He can’t talk to anyone about it though, he knows what they’d say, that it wasn’t his fault, that he shouldn’t blame himself. But it  _ was _ his fault, if he hadn’t gone to Krell to defend them, none of this would have happened. Rex wants to say something, to make things better, but he knows that there’s nothing that can erase the trauma of it all. It’s why he stays silent and waits for Fives’ shoulders to stop shuddering. 

“In…in ARC training, they teach you how to deal with psychological stress like that. How to remain sane if you have to spend long amounts of time in isolation, how to withstand torture, stuff like that…but Jesse…Jesse doesn’t have any of that training. He barely talks when we’re off duty, he stopped eating with us—kriff—I don’t even know if he’s eating at all. We barely see him. He’s--he’s avoiding Kix.”

“Kix?” Rex interjects, confused. He knows the two are close, but…

Fives looks up at him with wet eyes. “They’re…they’re riduure.” 

Ice cold horror floods Rex’s veins. Jesse…and Kix… He swallows around the lump in his throat. “How…how long? When?”

“They’ve been together a long time, don’t know when it actually started, but they made it official after the Citadel…after we lost Echo.” Fives looks down, sucking in a shallow breath; that wound is still fresh too. 

There’s another question that Rex wants to ask, but he shouldn’t. If Jesse and Kix want to keep their marriage private, then…then they’re perfectly entitled to do so, even if knowing they don’t trust him with that information stings. 

“They weren’t sure you’d be okay with it, sir.” Fives says quietly, somehow knowing what Rex was thinking. Rex lets his eyes fall closed, the answer only making him feel worse. He has the urge to go to them, gather them both in his arms and tell them how happy he is that they’ve found something good in their lives. But he bottles that feeling away. 

Rex hears Fives swallow, “he hasn’t talked about it, but I think when we rounded that corner and saw who was on the firing squad…I think it broke him.” Rex shudders, he can’t even begin to imagine how that must have felt; seeing the one person you love most in the galaxy prepared to kill you. 

“Fives…I don’t know what you want me to do,” Rex says, voice cracking with emotion. 

“I-I don’t think that kind of trauma ever goes away, but…I want to send him to ARC training.” Rex’s head snaps up, eyes meeting Fives’. It’s such an abrupt change in tone that it leaves him dizzy.

“What…”

“Just…hear me out. ARC training involves a lot of physical stuff but it’s psychological too, kind of like therapy for nat-borns; they teach you how to identify what you’re feeling so you can work past it, I think that would really help him.” It makes sense, but Rex is still skeptical. 

“You want me to send Jesse to one of the most difficult training programs available because he’s depressed?”

“I was already going to recommend him for it. Had the form ready and everything. He’s free-thinking, and he has the physicality for it. And…” Fives looks down and chews on his lip for a moment. “And I think he needs to spend some time away from Torrent.” Rex feels like he just got slapped. Tension coils up in his shoulders. 

“Fives…” 

“Just think about it,” Fives protests, “every day he’s surrounded by people he thought were going to kill him. His trust is broken. He can’t interact with anyone without seeing them pointing a blaster at him. He needs to spend time with brothers he doesn’t know, brothers who didn’t almost execute him.” 

Rex’s pride gnaws at him, demanding he say something. Torrent is Jesse’s home, there’s nowhere better for him. But he also knows Fives is right. 

He sighs, letting the tension fall from his shoulders. “Okay…Send me the form and I’ll see if I can get General Skywalker to sign off on it.” Fives looks up, his dark eyes boring into Rex, almost as if he hadn’t expected him to agree. 

“O-Okay…” He shakes off the dazed look, “thank you, sir. I wish we could do more.”

“I wish we could too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a Translations  
> riduure - spouses


End file.
